Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre (Suntec Singapore) has announced that 85 of their employees have been retrenched.
This move comes during a time when the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions) industry has been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The retrenchment exercise was carried out after a slew of cost-cutting measures were implemented, such as eliminating non-essential spending, hiring freezes, internal and external redeployment of staff, clearing of annual leave and short work weeks.
Its management has also taken a pay cut of up to 40 per cent.
85 staff retrenched from Suntec Singapore
After deliberation with the Building Construction and Timber Industries Employees' Union (BATU), Suntec Singapore has decided on this retrenchment exercise.
Of the 85 affected staff, 60 are locals and 25 are non-locals.
Currently, Suntec Singapore employs 149 locals and 29 non-locals.
After the retrenchment exercise, Suntec Singapore said that it will maintain a core of 89 locals and 4 non-locals (96 per cent locals, 4 per cent non-locals).
The retrenchment was also done in compliance with the NTUC Fair Retrenchment Framework and tripartite advisories.
The Chief Executive Officer of Suntec Singapore, Arun Madhok, said that the decision was not taken lightly and does not in any way reflect the performance of any staff.
He also said that he is "truly sorry" to have to let go of these staff.
Compensation and assistance for affected staff
Affected staff will receive a month's salary of every year of service as severance payment, in accordance with the collective agreement signed with the union.
Eligible staff will also be paid their pro-rated Annual Wage Supplement for the ear and be allowed to encash their remaining annual leave entitlements.
The affected staff can also use their entire notice period to plan for their future such as attending job fairs, interviews and trainings.
Local staff will receive assistance from the NTUC Job Security Council (JSC) to be matched with suitable jobs based on their skills and experience.
So far, every affected local employee has been matched to at least two job opportunities.
BATU and NTUC's e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) will also assist the affected staff in the job application and provide counselling where necessary.
NTUC Secretary General, Ng Chee Meng, said that the strong relationship between Suntec Singapore and BATU helps to ensure the retrenchment exercise is a fair one, and that a strong Singaporean core remains in the team.
Suntec Singapore has also given BATU a one-off training grant of S$25,000 to aid affected union members to upskill or reskill for new jobs.
Top image via Unsplash by Aditya Chinchure